SurveyToGo: How to – Use Offline Mapping

Guide to offline mapping in SurveyToGo:—download and configure offline map tiles for use when network connectivity is unavailable.

Aug 4, 2026
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How to – Use Offline Mapping

Overview

The SurveyToGo Location Question supports both online and offline map modes.

When used in online mode, the Location Question uses Google Maps as its mapping engine.

In situations where internet connectivity is limited or unavailable, you can configure the Location Question to work in offline mode. In this mode, maps are stored directly on the device, allowing interviewers to capture locations without a network connection.

Offline maps use the Osmdroid SQLite map format. These map files can be created using several third-party tools, including the open-source Mobile Atlas Creator (MOBAC) application.

This article covers the following steps:

Install Mobile Atlas Creator.
Create an offline map for the required geographic area.
Configure SurveyToGo to use the offline map.
Optionally set the map's initial position and zoom level.
Use the offline map on the device.

Step 1: Install Mobile Atlas Creator

If Mobile Atlas Creator is not already installed, follow these steps:

Download and install Mobile Atlas Creator (MOBAC).
Extract the downloaded files to a folder of your choice.
Launch the application by running:

Mobile Atlas Creator.exe

Once the application is running, you are ready to create an offline map.

Step 2: Create an Offline Map

Details

Select the geographic area that will be required during fieldwork and generate an offline map in the Osmdroid SQLite format.
This file will later be used as the map source for the SurveyToGo Location Question.

The resulting SQLite map file can then be loaded into SurveyToGo and distributed to devices for offline use.

To create the offline map:

Launch Mobile Atlas Creator
Go to the Atlas Menu
Select New Atlas with the Osmdroid SQlite format you want to use:
Choose one of the sources from the list
Creating the Offline Map File
- Use the right mouse button to move around the map.
- Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
- Once the desired area is visible, use the left mouse button to draw a selection around it.
- Click Add Selection to add the selected area to the atlas.
Before adding the selection, carefully review the zoom levels that are selected.

Choosing the Correct Zoom Levels

The selected zoom levels determine both the map detail and the final file size.
- Higher zoom levels provide more map detail.
- Higher zoom levels also produce significantly larger SQLite files.
Recommendations:
- For country-sized areas, use a maximum zoom level of 15.
- For areas larger than a city, use a maximum zoom level of 16.
- Only use zoom level 17 when detailed street-level navigation is required.
- Do not use zoom level 18, as it can generate extremely large map files that may not perform well on mobile devices.
Important Note

Selecting zoom level 17 for a large geographic area can create a very large offline map file that may exceed the capabilities of the target device.

While zoom level 17 provides detailed street-level maps, zoom level 16 also includes street information and is generally sufficient for most fieldwork scenarios.

You can review the map detail available at each zoom level directly within Mobile Atlas Creator before generating the atlas.

Modifying a Selection

If you have already added a selection and later decide to change the zoom levels:
1. Right-click the layer that was added.
2. Select Delete.
3. Adjust the desired zoom levels.
4. Click Add Selection again.
Generate the Offline Map

Once the area and zoom levels are configured correctly:
1. Click Create Atlas.
2. Mobile Atlas Creator will begin downloading the required map tiles and generating the offline map database.
Depending on the selected area and zoom levels, this process may take some time.

Locate the Generated SQLite File

When the atlas creation process is complete:
1. Click Open Atlas Folder.
2. Open the folder that was created with the current date and time.
3. Locate the generated file with the .sqlite extension.
This SQLite file is the offline map file that will be used in the next step when configuring the SurveyToGo Location Question.

You may rename the SQLite file to a more descriptive name if desired.

Creating Additional Maps

If you need to generate a new offline map:
1. Repeat the steps above.
2. Generate a new atlas.
3. Use the SQLite file from the most recently created atlas folder.

Step 3: Configure SurveyToGo to Use the Offline Map

After creating the SQLite map file (for example, Layer.sqlite), you are ready to configure the SurveyToGo Location Question to use it as an offline map source.

Note: You may rename the SQLite file to any descriptive file name before using it.

There are two supported approaches for making the map file available to the survey.

Option 1: Copy the SQLite File Directly to the Devices

With this approach, you manually copy the SQLite file to each device and then configure the Location Question to reference the existing file.

Advantages

- Faster deployment for large map files.
- Faster survey synchronization because the map file is not included as a survey attachment.
- Recommended for large offline maps.

Considerations

- The file must be distributed and copied to devices manually.
- SurveyToGo will not automatically download or update the file.

Option 2: Attach the SQLite File to the Survey

With this approach, the SQLite file is uploaded as a survey attachment and automatically downloaded to devices when the survey is synchronized.

Advantages

- SurveyToGo manages the file distribution automatically.
- No manual file copying is required.

Considerations

- Uploading large SQLite files can take considerable time.
- Very large files may fail to upload because of file size limitations.
- Survey synchronization will be slower because the map file is downloaded through the attachment mechanism.

Recommendation

As a general guideline, use Option 1 for any SQLite map file larger than 15 MB.

For smaller files, either approach can be used depending on your deployment requirements and device management process.

Approach	Pros	Cons
Option 1: Copy the “Sqllite” file to the devices by yourself	For large “Sqllite” files, copying the files to many devices will be much quicker Syncing of the survey will be much quicker as the survey itself will not include the “Sqllite” file as an attachment	The download of the file to the devices is done manually by the customer and not by SurveyToGo:
Option 2: Attach the “SQLite” file as a survey attachment	SurveyToGo: will take care of downloading the file to all the devices that sync this survey	The upload of the SQLite file will take time, if this file is over 15MB of size the upload of the file might fail due to file size restrictions. The download of the SQLite file will be much slower as it will use the SurveyToGo: download attachments mechanism

Steps for Options 1 and 2:

Option 1: Copy the SQLite File Directly to the Devices

In this approach, the SQLite map file is manually copied to each device. The survey is then configured to reference the existing file on the device.

Configure the Location Question

1. 1. Add a Location Question to the survey.
  2. In the question's Answers tab, enable Use Offline Mode.
  3. Set the Offline Maps Source option to New.
  4. Click the + button to create a new Attachment Source.
  5. Enter the path to the SQLite file that was copied to the device.

Example:

list.Add("$ROOT$/Layer.sqlite","1");

1. 1. Enter a name for the Attachment Source and click OK.
  2. Select the newly created Attachment Source from the Offline Maps Source list.

Option 2: Attach the SQLite File to the Survey

In this approach, the SQLite file is uploaded as a survey attachment and automatically distributed to devices during synchronization.

Upload the SQLite File

1. 1. Select the survey root.
  2. Open the Advanced tab.
  3. Click Edit Survey Attachments.
  4. Click New.
  5. Click Add Files and select the SQLite file.
  6. Click Upload to upload the file to the survey.

Once the upload is complete, the file becomes available for use within the survey.

Configure the Location Question

1. 1. Add a Location Question.
  2. Enable Use Offline Mode.
  3. Set Offline Maps Source to New.
  4. Click the + button to create a new Attachment Source.
  5. Configure the Attachment Source using the attachment name.

Example:

list.AddFromAttachment("Layer.sqlite");

1. 1. Enter a name for the Attachment Source and click OK.
  2. Select the newly created Attachment Source from the Offline Maps Source list.

Important Note

The script syntax used in this option differs from Option 1.

When referencing a survey attachment, use:

list.AddFromAttachment("Layer.sqlite");

Do not use the file path syntax from Option 1.

Step 4: Optionally Control the Map Start Position and Zoom Level

You can configure the map to open centered on a specific location and at a predefined zoom level.

Add the Global Callback Function

1. Open the Location Question.
2. Go to the Scripts tab.
3. Click Advanced Scripts.

Add the following function to the survey's script library:

function OnMapShowing(inCallback, inQuestionIndex, inIteration)
{
    inCallback.setMapCenter(CreateCoords(51.522202, -0.147206));

    inCallback.setZoomLevel(13);

    inCallback.setSatellite(false);
}

Function Description

- setMapCenter() defines the coordinates where the map will initially be centered.
- setZoomLevel() sets the starting zoom level.
- setSatellite(false) displays the standard map view instead of satellite imagery.

You can replace the coordinates with any latitude and longitude that better fit your project area.

This callback runs each time the map is opened.

Step 5: Using the Offline Map on the Device

After synchronizing the survey to the device:

1. Open the interview.
2. Navigate to the Location Question.
3. Tap Open Map.

The map will open using the configured offline SQLite map file.

If a custom map center and zoom level were configured, the map will automatically open at that location.

The interviewer can then:

- Navigate around the map.
- Adjust the zoom level.
- Place the location pin at the desired position.

When the interviewer taps OK, the selected latitude and longitude are captured and stored as the answer to the Location Question.

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